Blinken visits South Korea as North Korea, Russia deepen ties

SEOUL – US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Seoul on Wednesday for talks with his South Korean counterpart, as the allies step up cooperation in the face of growing concerns over North Korea’s closer military ties with Russia.

The two-day visit, the

first by a US secretary of state

in 2½ years, is part of Mr Blinken’s broader Asia trip that has included meetings with Group of Seven counterparts and talks with Japanese officials in Tokyo, as well as a later stop in India amid the Israel-Hamas conflict.

The Seoul visit comes as the United States and South Korea, along with Japan, have condemned what they say is the supply of arms and military equipment by North Korea to Russia.

Washington and Seoul see the closer military ties between the North and Russia, which is thought to be suffering depleting stocks of munitions in its war with Ukraine, as an effort by Pyongyang to secure strategic military capabilities in return.

North Korea is preparing to launch a spy satellite after having failed twice so far in 2023 to put one in orbit.

South Korea’s spy agency said last week that North Korea was in the final stages of preparations for the launch after apparently receiving technical assistance from Russia.

Pyongyang and Moscow have denied claims of arms deals while their leaders pledged closer military cooperation when they met in September in Russia’s Far East region.

South Korea’s military said on Monday it was on alert over possible North Korean provocations after Pyongyang designated Nov 18 as “missile industry day” to commemorate the country’s launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) in 2022.

The North

in November 2022 tested the Hwasong-17 ICBM,

a weapon potentially able to deliver a nuclear warhead to anywhere in the US.

With aid from the US,

South Korea also plans to launch its first spy satellite on Nov 30

on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the US military’s Vandenberg base in California.

A US official has said the United States remained focused on the Indo-Pacific despite other global challenges, and Mr Blinken’s trip demonstrated such “enduring” commitment.

US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin is also due to visit South Korea this week on a trip that will include Indonesia and India.

The North Korean state media on Wednesday criticised the visits by Mr Blinken and Mr Austin, saying they would bring a “new war cloud” to the Asia-Pacific region, citing a commentator on international affairs.

In Washington, US and South Korean officials held talks on North Korea’s illicit cyber activities that they say fund its unlawful weapons programmes, South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said.

Sanctions monitors have accused the reclusive state of using cyber attacks to gather funds for its nuclear and missile programmes, and a United Nations report said the North stepped up its cryptocurrency thefts, using sophisticated techniques to steal more in 2022 than in any other year. REUTERS